


tell me, we both matter, don't we?

by lostin_space



Series: 50 Prompts for Lesser Ships [4]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Hopeful Ending, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:13:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26725726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostin_space/pseuds/lostin_space
Summary: Isobel had known since she was a little girl that she would be marrying one of the Manes boys.
Relationships: Isabel Evans/Gregory Manes
Series: 50 Prompts for Lesser Ships [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1906387
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	tell me, we both matter, don't we?

**Author's Note:**

> prompt #4 - arranged marriage
> 
> if i missed any tags, let me know

Isobel had known since she was a little girl that she would be marrying one of the Manes boys.

It was an agreement to keep the peace once it became clear that she was the only daughter from the Antarian King and Queen and Earth’s High General only had sons. It was all fun and games when her little brother fooled around with the Manes’ youngest boy, of course, but when it came to _her,_ it meant marriage. Every time she said it was sexist, her mother would sigh and say that was just the way things had to be. Which sounded even more sexist.

The day came too soon, though, and she was suddenly 20 and being prepped for her wedding. She still hadn’t been told which boy she was being married off to. She figured it was the eldest, Clay Manes. 

Clay ran the Space Force and he was still unmarried, so it made the most sense. The problem was she’d met him when they were younger and he was an asshole. He was six years older than her and still felt the need to make fun of her for whatever he could think of. As much as her mother said that meant he liked her, it simply made her hate him. It also meant he saw her as a child.

The next probable was possibly the baby, Alex Manes. He was queer and didn’t do much to hide it and his father wasn’t a fan. She wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to marry him off to a woman. Honestly, if he and Michael were okay with it, she would gladly marry him and let them carry on their relationship so that Isobel could find her own person. 

Then there was Flint Manes, the second youngest who was, honestly, probably just as unwilling to marry her as she was. At 22, he’d been the only Manes boy to never have a rumored affair in any way, shape, or form. He was married to his work and seemed totally uninterested in marriage as a whole. It seemed likely that his father would marry him off just to avoid questions.

Lastly, there was Gregory Manes. He was charismatic and kind and had new girls fawning over him ever other week. He was handsome and she wouldn’t mind staring at his face, but there were a million other choices for him and it seemed much more likely that his father would try to get him to marry another wealthy, high ranking girl on Earth. 

Isobel sat in her bridal room, staring blankly at the elaborate wedding dress. Bridal attire on Antar was typically composed of golden robes, designed to wrap around the arms and the body in a way to accentuate the bride’s favorite features. Isobel had dreamed of having it with a high slit to show off her legs. However, her husband was from Earth, and she found herself with an all white, all floor-length gown. She wasn’t a fan and thought about taking a pair of scissors to it.

Someone knocked on her door.

“Enter,” Isobel said without asking who it was. She didn’t care. She didn’t really feel like anything mattered if she was marrying a military man who she didn’t love or know. Her life was simply a political statement.

“I’ve got something,” Michael’s voice said. She turned to him quickly, thankful to see him and not one of the women that was coming to fix her hair just yet. She had more time. 

“Hug?” she asked. He smiled, closing the door behind him.

“Two things, then,” Michael said. He put a box down on the table and came closer, easily pulling her into a tight hug. “Three if you count news.”

“News?” Isobel echoed, not moving from her spot holding him despite her curiosity.

“Yes,” he said, “I’ve seen the groom. Mother asked me explicitly not to tell you because she wants it to be a surprise, so I came right to tell you.” Isobel pulled back a little, waiting for him to tell her. She was far too on edge for all of this. “It’s Gregory.”

Isobel wasn’t quite sure how she was supposed to take that. Her stomach still dropped, but she was sure that would be the same no matter which Manes boy it was. But... Gregory?

“How?”

“I asked Alex and he said his father didn’t decide until last night, said he thought Greg was the most likely to get a lower class girl pregnant, so it would be easier if he was married,” Michael said, making a grossed out face as he tucked her hair behind her ear, “So I guess he’s giving you the promiscuous boy.”

“Lovely,” she sighed, a pout finding her lips, “Maybe we can make an agreement and he can sleep with whoever he wants as long as it isn’t me.”

Michael laughed, “Maybe.”

“Is that a present?” Isobel asked, trying to push away her gradually more dreadful feeling. Maybe whatever he had would bring her some semblance of joy.

“Oh, right,” Michael said, pulling away from her to go to the box. He very carefully reached inside and pulled out a crown with multiple metal tendrils with handcrafted leaves on them. Her lips parted as he brought it closer. “I made it for you. I figure you could ask them to weave your hair around it to wear it today. If they must put you in a dress from their home, then I say you wear something from yours.”

“Michael, it’s beautiful,” she breathed. It was all intricate, clearly done with more effort than just his telekinesis. “Thank you so much.”

“Of course. Now you have something to give you strength to handle him.”

Michael had to leave her not long after that for her to begin to get ready. She got them to work around the crown Michael had made for her and they settled on loose waves and simple braids only to hold it to her head. They helped her into her dress and boring makeup and suddenly she was supposed to walk down the aisle.

“Spare me a moment?” she requested. The women who had helped her get ready nodded and left the room. Then she was alone.

Isobel looked at herself in the mirror and thought over what would happen if she ran away. Would they bother to look for her? If they found her, would they force her to marry him still?

Again, another knock came and she was sure it was her mother this time. She didn’t expect Max to come or Michael to come again and definitely not her father. It was going to be her mother and she was going to encourage her to go. 

Except the knocking was a little too frantic to be her mother.

“Enter,” she said, her eyebrows pulled together as she took a step towards the door. It opened quickly and then was closed just as fast. And then she was standing across from Gregory who had wild, frantic eyes. 

“Hi. I know I’m not supposed to be here, but I’m really not a big fan of the whole marriage thing that’s about to happen, so I lied and said I was getting water and then ran here,” he said. Isobel swallowed.

“Do you expect me to call off the wedding? That isn’t something I can do,” she pointed out. He shook his head.

“Yeah, no, I get that. Me neither. Look, uh,” Gregory said, pausing for a second as he looked over her, “Oh, you’re pretty in person.”

“Thank you?” Isobel said slowly. He snapped his eyes up to meet hers again. 

“Right, look. Let’s go up there, do the thing, make our parents happy, and then I move to Antar,” he decided. It didn’t ease any of her confusion. “I need to get away from my dad and I... I’m sorry, I didn’t even ask. What are your opinions on this whole marriage?”

“I’m not a... what is it, you said, a _fan?_ I’m not one of those either,” Isobel said, crossing her arms over her chest. Gregory smiled, that little mischievous one that was the only thing all four Manes boys had in common.

“Perfect,” he said, “Then I move to Antar. That way you can be involved with the politics of your planet and I can get away from my father.”

“Why are you sure I want to be involved with the politics of my planet?”

“You don’t think I did my research on you?” he asked rhetorically, “You’re the most interested out of all of your siblings in politics and I’m not about to take that away from you. But, more importantly, I want to get away from my father.”

“And you think that’s a good idea?” she clarified.

“I want to make the most of this if I have to go through with this, don’t you? We can iron out the rest, but do you think we can make this work?”

“Do you know you’re extremely unlikable when you tell me what we’re going do?” Isobel asked, the weight of her crown reminding her who held superiority in this situation. Gregory smiled even wider.

“Well, Princess, in the future, you’re going to do all the telling, I promise you that. I’m nothing if not an obedient servant,” Gregory proclaimed. Isobel scoffed and shook her head slightly. “But, seriously, if you will just take me away from my father and let me experience freedom for once in my life, I’ll do whatever you need from me.”

“And is that a promise?”

“In holy matrimony,” he swore. Isobel scoffed again, but she agreed with a nod. He let out a relieved sigh.

“Before you leave, will you tell me something?” she said, “Are you always this jumpy?”

“Only when I’m about to marry a literal princess,” Gregory said. 

“I’ll hold you to it.”

“I’ll see you at the altar,” he said, looking her over one last time, “You really look beautiful, by the way. You may not be marrying someone you love, but it is someone who thinks you’re gorgeous. I don’t know if that helps any.”

“It doesn’t,” she admitted. He grinned and nodded which did nothing to help.

“I’ll think we’ll get along just fine.”

Gregory was gone in a flash and Isobel was starting to think that maybe Michael's gift of strength might come in handy more than he'd ever know.

**Author's Note:**

> also on my tumblr: spaceskam


End file.
